Want to install xp instead of vista - but end up in caldera dr dos

Get a different iso. Somebody modified it.

1. Check your BIOS to be sure your computer will boot from a CD. Enter the BIOS setup by pressing the "Delete" or F2 or "F12" key, or as directed at the startup screen, immediately after booting. Set the first boot device to "CDROM" or "DVDROM" instead of "hard drive" if it isn't already.

2. MS-DOS command prompt

Insert the Windows XP installation CD into your CD or DVD drive and restart the computer. When prompted, choose to start from the MS-DOS command prompt with CD support. The MS-DOS command prompt will appear in a moment.

3. Start SMARTDRIVE by typing "SMARTDRV" at the DOS prompt and pressing enter. You don't have to run SMARTDRIVE, but copying the files will be much quicker if you do. The computer will display the DOS prompt again.

4. Enter "CD I386" at the DOS prompt to change to the directory where the setup program starts.

5. Enter "WINNT" at the prompt to start Windows XP setup. The installation program will copy files to your computer and then display a message requesting to reboot.

6. Press the "Enter" key to reboot. The setup program will start again and check that your hard drive format is compatible with Windows XP. If not, it will guide you through partitioning and formatting the drive and then ask you to reboot once more.

7. Press "Enter" to reboot. The computer will restart in Windows XP mode and automatically start the Windows Setup Wizard to detect your hardware and finish the installation.

..why not use a dvd installer for xp..it is easier and more convenient..

If u have win. vista installed in ur laptop than u cant install win xp............if u install win.xp than ur vista will b dissappear from boot menu

if u want to overcome this problem than buy a software VISTABOOTPRO
and install it in XP it will help u
OR u can ask me for free soft.....

Windows Vista takes away a lot of support and convenience for the sheer attractive of flashy user interface. One major feature is the ability of open full screen window for command prompt shell in Windows Vista. When you attempt open or run DOS .com applications, .bat batch scripts or games that relies on command prompt, and including cmd.exe itself, you will encounter the following error message:
This system does not support fullscreen mode. Choose “Close” to terminate the application.
The lack of support for full screen DOS command prompt in Windows Vista is a big annoyance especially for those who still playing games for DOS and Windows 3.1/9x era, use legacy software such as WPDOS or programmers who frequently switch to command prompt to use DOS based programming language such as PASCAL.
There is no simple solution to this no support for full screen window in Windows Vista. In almost all possible workarounds, you are almost guaranteed that your Vista will be broken in some way, at least on the part on Windows Aero. You will lose the nice Aero Glass interface if you attempt any of these trick, plus other unknown side effects.
Workaround to Run or Open Full Screen Window Mode
Workaround 1: Use XDDM driver instead of WDDM driver for video graphics adapter
In another word, install the Windows XP video card driver for use in Vista. If the video graphics card hardware supports Windows XP driver, you can download the Windows XP driver for your video hardware and install it under Vista. However, be warned that using XP driver on display adapter may crash your Vista system randomly, so save your works before proceeding and use with care.
Note: This solution has been recommended by Microsoft in KB926657.
To install a Windows XP video driver under Vista, just follow the procedure listed in the guide below. The steps should work for both NVIDIA and ATI video graphics accelerator card.
Download the Windows XP driver installer for your graphics card from NVIDIA or ATI. Run the installation setup program just downloaded. Confirm any User Account Control permission warning when prompted. The installer will first extract and unpack the files required by installation to proceed to a folder/directory. Note down the path to the folder. For ATI, the folder for these installation files usually located in a directory with a name that resembles C:\ATI\SUPPORT\7-5_xp_dd_46743\Driver or C:\ATI\SUPPORT\7-5_xp_dd_ccc_wdm_46743\Driver, with the only different been the number to indicate the version and build number of the driver

Sounds like your not booting up to the CDROM that you XP PRO disk is in you booting to the hard drive .... what you need to do is go into your bios (usually this is the DEL key, maybe F2, or F10), you will need to look at the screen as it boots up to know for sure... it will say something like Press DEL to Enter Setup. Under the boot menu choose to boot to the CDROM first... it has you put the CDROM and Hard drives in a boot order... ofcourse make sure CDROM is first. Save the Bios usually by hitting the ESC key after making the needed changes and then it will ask you if you want to Save, ... yes you do want to SAVE Changes. Good Luck!!! I hope this works for you!!!

The problem is hard enough for beginners . First :

1.DR DOS is used by ASUS . DR DOS isn't MS-DOS (Microsoft), just 99% compatible with it . You have access with it on whole HDD+cd/dvd but , because drdos will enable only 8MB RAM you can't install winnt.exe from i386 . There are at least 2 solutions :
a. if drdos is enable because u reseted BIOS try to change bios according to a better result (avoiding Caldera) and start a nice windows installation;
b. u may use another desktop/laptop until the first restart (in installation) ; u must try to use a computer with ~motherboard for best results.

Don't forget that DR DOS Caldera is almost every time used on ASUS MBs with all on board and you must have a PS2 keyboard/mouse to use any kind of DOS . I read sometimes that DRDOS is a soft used by Microsoft which it's wrong - there isn't any link between drdos and any windows system , genuine or not .
DRDOS problem might appear because it's a soft put on ASUS MB cd driver and , sometime, might be on a BIOS ROM .When u will boot with the MB cd driver in this kind of problem might occur .
Other way Caldera may appear is when u have a windows cd made careless with NERO and caldera will appear no matter the MB .

If the flash bios installation was stopped, you might have to do it from dos, otherwise, go ahead and press f2 and correct any obvious errors (ie floppy drive listed and not present)

1. make sure your laptop is set to startup from a cd
2. after laptop finds the bootinfo from the cd and asks you to press any key to start from cd, press any key and xp setup will start.
3. in xp setup your going to need to delete your vista partitions, preferably all partitions and then proseed to install xp into a new partition.

4. proseed with the windows setup follow the instructions and configure your settings as you wish.

1) to edit registry go to start / select run and type regedit. from there you are able to edit registry values. BEWARE because editing registry values may make your windows stop working. you should know what you are doing and you are responsible of the cosnequenses 2) a bat file is a batch file. Batch files are files that allow MS-DOS and Microsoft Windows users to create a lists of commands and/or programs to run once the batch file has been executed. 3) create a file called autorun.inf and type inside [autorun] open=file.exe save your file and write it in the cd you want to autorun the file.exe part must be replaced with the executable you want to load when your CD autoruns